 |
 |
|
|
| Event Spotlight: Delaware Smash And Sacramento Capitals Gear Up For Showdown At World Team Tennis Finals In New York Monday, August 18, 2003 By Rosie Crews The 2003 World TeamTennis (WTT) Pro League Champion will be crowned on Saturday, August 23, as the Delaware Smash and the Sacramento Capitals battle for the King Trophy at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. at 2:00 p.m. EST. For the fourth consecutive year, the WTT Finals will be a part of Arthur Ashe Kids Day. Admission is free for the championship match on Court #11. Ten teams battled for conference titles during the three - week WTT Pro League season, presented by ADT Security Services. The Delaware Smash (13-1) finished the 2003 WTT season as the hottest team in the Pro League, with only one loss to the New York Buzz during the regular season. Delaware will be looking for their first WTT Pro League title, as they try to avenge a convincing 21-20 loss to the Capitals in the 2000 WTT Finals. 2003 WTT Male MVP Paul Goldstein of the Smash teamed with Scott Humphries to finish the regular season as the League's #1 ranked men's doubles tandem, with a 63-46 record (0.578 pct.). Samantha Reeves, the 2003 WTT Female MVP will join forces with fourth-year veteran Liezel Huber in women's doubles. During the regular season they finished ranked #1 with a win-loss record of 62-38 (0.620 pct.). The Sacramento Capitals had a tougher road to the Western Conference crown with a 9-5 record. Although the Springfield Lasers also finished the season 9-5, Sacramento won the tiebreaker over the Lasers with two wins over Springfield during the regular season. The Capitals will be vying for their sixth League Championship. Sacramento clinched the League title last year, defeating the New York Buzz 21-13. The team made history in 2000, earning the distinction as a "dynasty," when they won their fourth straight King Trophy with a 21-20 victory over Delaware in New York. Sacramento secured their division title in 2003 with a win during the regular season over the Hartford FoxForce, 22-17. The Capitals' doubles tandem of Mark Knowles and 2003 League Rookie of the Year Daniel Nestor finished as the League's #2 ranked men's doubles team with a record of 61-47 (0.565 pct). In a preview of the 2003 WTT Finals, the Smash traveled to the Sunrise Mall in Sacramento on July 11, and defeated the Capitals 23-21. After Samantha Reeves built a 5-3 lead in women's singles to start the match, the Smash took the Capitals to tiebreakers in each of the remaining four sets. Goldstein and Humphries defeated Knowles and Nestor in the final set 5-4 (2) to win the match. Billie Jean King and Larry King originated World TeamTennis and its unique gender-equity team concept in the early 70's. The format used for a WTT Pro League match features teams comprised of two men, two women and a coach. Each match consists of five sets, with one set each of men's and women's singles, men's and women's doubles and mixed doubles. The WTT Pro League is presented by ADT Security Services. Other official WTT Pro League sponsors include Advanta, AstraZeneca, Gatorade, Penn Tennis Balls and Wilson Rackets. For more information on the WTT Pro League, visit www.WTT.com. Celebrating its 128th anniversary, ADT Security Services is the largest single provider of electronic security services to more than five million commercial, federal and residential customers throughout the United States. ADT's total security solutions include intrusion, fire protection, closed circuit television, access control, critical condition monitoring, electronic article surveillance and integrated systems. ADT's Web site address is www.adt.com. WTT FINALS: Saturday, August 23, 2003 - 2 p.m. EST - Court #11 at the USTA National Tennis Center (Rain date: Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 10:30 a.m. EST) * The Tennis Channel will televise the match live on Saturday, August 23 and will re-broadcast Sunday, August 24 in the evening on MSG and Comcast Sports Net. Check for local listings.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ©2003 South Jersey Sports Online Inc. |